As containers such as for mineral water and soft drink which are commercially available, there is used one made of hard synthetic resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a volume of about 2 liters. These containers are fabricated by blow molding and called "PET bottle". However, this type of containers are problematic from an environmental viewpoint, since they are used as an alternative of a water bottle such as in hiking and discarded as they are to fields and mountains.
Those used PET bottles can not be naturally decomposed, even when they are buried as wastes into the ground.
As a countermeasure for such a problem, it has recently become common to use, instead of PET bottle, such a combination as shown in FIGS. 6 through 8, in which a spout 32 is attached to a bag-like package body 31 made of soft synthetic resin such as polyethylene, the package body 31 is accommodated in a housing 33 made of a hard synthetic resin, and the combination is used as a container for drinking water and other soft drinks, in lieu of PET bottle. According to this housing 33, when the filler within the package body 31 has been exhausted, the filler is refilled, or the exhausted and waste package body 31 is discarded and a new package body 31 is instead accommodated into the housing 33 to thereby use the combination as PET bottle again. Further, the package body 31, which is softer than a PET bottle, has a lower shape holdability, and is fragile to an external force, can be accommodated into the housing 33 so as to hold the shape of body 31, thereby facilitating the handling of the combination and providing strength against an external force.
Further, the housing 33 has a size and shape substantially identical with a PET bottle, is of a cylindrical shape made of hard synthetic resin such as polypropylene, has its upper half divided into two openable sub-halves, and is capable of removably receiving therein the package body 31 attached with the spout 32.
As depicted by dotted lines in FIG. 7, the spout 32 is formed with a cylindrical port, and thereunder has a seat 36 (see FIG. 8). Threadable onto an entrance opening 35 at the upper portion of the spout 32 is a cap 34 for establishing a structure capable of sealing the interior of the package body 31.
Substantially at the vertically central portion of the cylindrical spout 32, there is provided a plan-viewedly polygonal projection 37 integrally with the spout 32, and at the intermediate portion of the projection 37 and seat 36, there is further provided a similar plan-viewedly polygonal lower projection 38 having a slightly smaller size (see FIG. 8). Welded onto a side surface of the seat 36 by means of heat seal 41 is the package body 31 made of soft synthetic resin such as polyethylene, thereby enabling a filler such as drinking water and soft drink to be filled within the package body 31 integrated with the spout 32.
Provided at both sides of the top portion of the housing 33 are projecting rows 40 aimed at serving as a guide for fixedly fitting the spout 32 having a structure noted above into the housing 33 (see FIG. 7(B)), and the housing 33 is also provided with guides 39 therein for fixing the spout 32, to thereby establish such a structure that the guides 39 are engagedly inserted between the projection 37 and lower projection 38 of the spout 32, and the projecting rows 40 and the guides 39 cooperatively fix the spout 32 at a predetermined position of the housing 33 (see FIG. 7(A)).
However, there exists a deficiency in the fixing method for the spout 32 having such a structure, as follows.
Namely, there exist a variety of spout 32 such as having wide port or small port, and it is necessary to select one having a shape appropriate to the usage from such spouts. As such, there will be required a variety of housings adapted to the shapes of the variety of spouts, respectively, according to the aforementioned fitting and fixing method, so that the types of the spouts and housings are increased so much, resulting in inefficiency and in lost of economic effect that the package body is used instead of a PET bottle.
Further, if it is necessary to use a housing adapted to each shape of a spout, the number of types of housings is increased so much, resulting in inefficiency and in deviation from the purpose to decrease undesired wastes. It is desirable that the housing is adapted to a spout of any shape, and from both of economical viewpoint and that for decreasing wastes, it has been desired that the housing is adapted to every spout and the spout is used therefor.
It has been also desired for a spout to be welded to a bag-like package body in a more assured manner.